Former Today Show co-host Meredith Vieira and her husband Richard Cohen are featured in the December-January issue of AARP The Magazine.
The couple appear together on the mag cover with the banner headline Stronger Together. They agreed to a candid interview about Richard’s daily struggles with multiple sclerosis, a progressive disease he was diagnosed with 30 years ago.
Vieira left her morning gig in June, alluding that she needed to spend more time with family. Now we can more fully appreciate what she really meant.
Meredith admits, “He has very bad days. He’s so funny; he’ll say ‘I’m in control. I hate my life, but I’m in control.’ It’s good that he vents. If he’s having a very bad day, what is he going to do, pretend that he’s not? But then he’ll soldier on.”
She continued, “He said to me a million times, ‘I thought I would beat this. I thought I would be the one.’ He’s feeling like he’s not the one.”
How do they weather the hard times? They ask for assistance when the going gets tough. “People want to help, so when we’ve needed friends in times of any crisis, we ask. And I think it’s really important for caregivers not to feel that it’s all on you at any given time, because it’s not.”
Don’t take that to mean that they had full time help with Richard’s care. “Having somebody there would drive him crazy, I think. He hates hovering.”
Cohen was stoic about his future, “If there is anything I’ve leaned it’s that progressive diseases progress. You know on every level that it’s a one-way trip. You’re never going to cross back over.”
He appeared in an earlier issue of AARP to discuss his decision to finally embrace physical therapy. He also shared tips on eating seven foods that aid in pain relief.
That said he is sure about one thing, “I deny the certainty of possible outcomes. It really frees you up.”
The upcoming issue of AARP will arrive in homes on November 25.
Photo: AARP